Tenkai Knights Plus
by GrayToneSkies
Summary: Brittany Brooks is not a hero type. She's clumsy and stubborn. When Brittany turns out to be a Knight, the others can't click with her. Between her fights with Chooki, arguing with Guren, and being shy, will the knights be able to make her feel welcome where she never belonged- all while stopping three extra foes? Season 1 AU. Low chance of OC x Chooki. Has OCs, am not ashamed.
1. Two WorldsTenkai Dragon Cubes

Two Worlds/Tenkai Dragon Cube

It was getting to be a warm day in Benham City, pleasing to the skin and often bringing out the best in people, what with the happy weather. I hated it. I snorted to myself as I realized how normal that distaste was, what with my Northern blood. I always had a hatred of warm weather, and I was never really interested in being outside without any snow. I looked around in boredom, and rushed my way to the middle school that I was going to. I clenched my clipboard tightly to my chest when a young man looked at me, one that I hadn't seen before. He was watching me way to closely for my own comfort, and I accidentally stepped on the back of my sneakers, falling straight onto my face. My clipboard fell on the sidewalk and skittered a few feet away, and I sat up with a sigh.

"You okay? That looked like a pretty bad fall, dude." The boy asked, offering a hand.

I glanced at him, then murmured, "I'm fine. It's nothing unusual for me."

"Here, you dropped this." He handed my clipboard back to me, "By the way, I saw one of your sketches. You're pretty good."

I immediately snatched it back, "Th-thanks, goodbye!"

I got up and started running, disappearing down a nearby alleyway. I then waited until he passed and was almost a dot on the horizon to keep heading to school. I admit, I get nervous around people I have never met before, but I could kick butt if I wanted to. He just seemed nice, so I didn't think hurting him would be all that fun. I preferred to mess with bullies. I took a few thousand deep breaths as I headed to school. Once I was seated in Ms. Finwick's class in my solitary chair in the back lefthand corner. As far away from Ceylan Jones as I could be without going up a row. Nobody sat around me because they either saw how weird I really was, or they just knew that loneliness was my best skill in the world.

"Class, if I could have your attention?" Ms. Finwick asked.

I looked up front to see that kid from earlier who helped me when I fell down. He had red hair in the front and black hair in the back, which I honestly thought was kind of interesting. I pulled a blank piece of copy paper out of my clipboard's secret file inside, and began sketching him. After a long moment, he began talking about himself. I couldn't get his eyes just right, they were a little wider… And his nose was a hint softer… Done! Suddenly, everyone stopped when an airplane smacked into his forehead.

"Ceylan Jones!" Ms. Finwick scolded him, then coyly decided, "Since you seem to like Guren so much, you'll be his guide today around the school." Then she turned to me, "And Brett Brooks, I thought I said _not_ to draw in class anymore."

I opened the file with a sheepish look, taking out some lined paper and putting away the drawing. I was just so bored with her class again, what with the lack of her teaching anything I hadn't already learned. They taught things so much better when I was in homeschool, but the credit didn't transfer, and I got stuck with these kids who were bumbling about like a bunch of idiots. I sat there as she began talking about the Romans, and instead of taking notes, began to write a chapter for the novel I was working on. I heard Guren start laughing, probably because of Ceylan again, and teacher then began scolding him. I ignored them and kept writing. I started snacking on a candy bar like I always did in every class.

"Brett Brooks, are you eating in class again?" She growled.

I sighed, releasing my chocolate bar. "Yes ma'am…"

I heard Guren whisper, "Who's that boy in the corner?"

"He's nobody. Don't worry about him." Ceylan replied in a quiet voice.

It stung in my chest a bit to hear him say that, but it was true. I was nobody._ I always would be nobody_.

* * *

"As soon as school let out, I went home. I already knew what was waiting for me there. I opened the door, looking at the kitchen, waiting to hear a sound. I closed my eyes sadly, knowing that nobody was home. It was usually like this. My dad was off in another country, and my mom was basically traveling the world at the moment since she divorced my dad, so I wasn't exactly sure what to do with myself. I grabbed by debit card off the counter, stuck it into my pocket, and left to spend my dad's paycheck on… something. Making my way around town, I bought a burger and some fries, chowing down on them without a second thought as I wandered around the mall. I never stopped moving if I was eating, mostly since I was bored of sitting, plus I had restless leg syndrome.

"I don't want to buy anymore clothing, I'm so over trying to buy girl clothes to mask a guy figure…" I muttered.

I seriously hated being a girl because I wasn't very feminine in my personality, and I had cut my hair short because of an accident involving bubbegum, a pair of scissors, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I felt a bit of anger rush in at the sight of a pretty girl in a tight skirt with her curvy hips flirting with a boy, her long violet hair draping over her shoulders the same way mine used to before I had to cut it. I think I had a bit of a case of jealousy over any girl, since I was not exactly into being a girl myself. I had stringy, thin brown hair that was cut chin length and straight bangs that hid my whole forehead. My eyes were gray and blue, but they didn't look as pretty as a pure blue would. I tried to hide any semblance of femininity in my body by wearing long sleeve white shirts, a black vest, a pair of baggy jeans, and some black and white sneakers. As you might be able to tell, I wasn't into colors.

I looked around with disinterest, and then I found an old junk shop. "I wonder if it's still open. It's kind of late now.

"It truly is, Brittany." An older man said, opening the door.

I made a face that probably resembled a blown up pufferfish. "How did you know that?!"

"It has been quite some time, but I remember when you first moved here a year and a half ago. You still have that white scarf, I would think." He commented.

I then remembered. "Oh, yeah… Mr. White. I do."

"I have been hoping to see you again," Mr. White said, "I have a gift for you."

I walked inside with a nod, knowing why he knew my name. He remembered how I used to actually behave like I was female a while back, but now I was a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing. Look like a boy, act like a boy, be a girl. I sat down on the couch after we clomped up the stairs, and he poured some tea. He handed me a cup of it, and made one for himself.

"Thanks." I said.

Mr. White asked, "One lump or two?"

"I can't have sugar it my tea because I like it bitter." I explained, taking a sip, only to wrinkle my nose, "You _really_ botched the tea, doll."

He frowned, "Did I? I'm sorry, I didn't realize that."

"Don't worry, I'll still drink it." I said, waving off the idea.

After a few minutes of lowly silence, I drained my cup and placed it on the table. I looked at the elderly man, wondering what he wanted to give to me. Mr. White placed the cup he was drinking from on the table as well, looking at me with piercing eyes. He then closed them

"So, what was it you needed, doll?" I asked.

He sighed and gave a reply, "I am aware you wished to have friends, but you don't have any."

"That's," I hesitated, "It's 'cause I'm weird.

"He held out a small black and white block, a smile on his face, "Perhaps this may help you. I know it won't make much sense now, but later on, it will."

"Uhhhh, it's a tiny brick… What do I do with it?!" I snapped, a glare in my eyes as I leaned forward.

Mr. White simply chuckled, "You'll find out soon enough. Enjoy your field trip tomorrow."

"Right," I mumbled, "I gotta get home…"

* * *

The next day was perfectly fine, at the museum. We were all just wandering around, looking at stuff. I was, as always, by myself as I wandered about the place. I looked at an old Egyptian ankh as I stood away from the others, only to accidentally brush up against that Guren kid again. It made me shiver, as if touching him set off that paranoid feeling I always got about thieves and killers. This kid was totally bad news.

No reason to stay away from him, I guess.

"Ah," Guren realized who he was pressed against, "Hey dude. I remember you. My name's Guren, what's-"

I took a huge step away from him, "Brett, and no contact please…"

"Sorry." He apologized, "You okay? After that wipeout the other day, I mean?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, man, I'm cool. Don't worry about it."

"Guren, _why_ are you talking to the class freak?" Ceylan walked over, looking annoyed.

I snorted, "Take a look in the mirror, genius."

I watched him jerk his head back in disgust. Ceylan walked over to the boring looking tablet, and Guren and I just followed along like a pair of puppies with nothing better to do. I looked at it, remembering what had been said. The tablet was encrypted with a special language nobody had discovered. I got the feeling we should take a closer look at it, so I leaned in pretty deeply, thinking to myself that it was just a piece of junk with squares on it.

"Hmph, this isn't that special, you know…" I mumbled.

Ceylan asked while tapping the glass, "Why bother to look around? Everything is awkward here anyways, so why not pretend to think about this thing?"

"Well- why is it glowing?" I demanded, "What did you do, you troublemaker?"

Ceylan snapped, "Why is everything my fault?"

I looked down, only to see the tablet turning into something else, but it started transforming into some glowing key thing, which sent a shiver down my spine. I thought that this was going to be a boring trip to the boring museum, where I could be, you know, BORED. This was freaking me out on the spot! Guren looked at me, realizing that I had a brick glowing in my vest's pocket. He had one in his pants pocket, and so did Ceylan. I felt my chest start throbbing in sudden shock. This was freaking weird! What was happening?!

"Whoa, what is that thing?" Ceylan asked, eyes gigantic.

I screamed, "I don't know, but what happened to the museum?!"

We were surrounded by stars, a lack of a floor, and certainly a lack of people. There was a gigantic dragon-like creature flying toward us. It roared right into our faces and flew through us, and we all screamed our lungs out. The second we got thrown back into the museum, I stumbled back a few feet, still looking horrified. I stared at the two boys like it was their faults.

"You have a core brick?" Guren asked, bewildered.

I nodded, "Yes, if that's what you call this block thing, but the tablet, it's a key now!"

Ceylan immediately yelled, "I didn't do it!"

"For once, Ceylan actually didn't do it!" I agreed loudly.

* * *

"'For once'? That was a bit rude." Ceylan snorted.

I rolled my eyes, "Forgive me, your lordship. Now, start talking."

"I thought you were supposed to be shy," The blue haired boy commented, eyes half lidded and frowning.

I said, "I am. I've just been around you enough that I don't really get nervous anymore. Since Ms. Finwick decided nobody but me could learn with you around, that is…"

"And Guren?"

"He's nice enough."

Guren interjected, "Hello, right here, you guys… Look, I'll explain."

"Sorry, Guren." My eyes flickered to him before I punched Ceylan's shoulder, and he punched mine.

Guren sighed and explained, "Mr. White has this portal thing, and we use it to cross over to a world called Quarton. There, we're the legendary Tenkai Knights, so then we fight these goons trying to destroy these robot people called the Corekai."

"Lemme guess… We're the only ones for the job?" I sighed, holding my eyes on his to keep him from lying.

Guren lowered his head but maintained eye contact, "Yeah, sorry… We could really use your help."

"I already told him he was crazy. I'm not going back." Ceylan said, rolling his eyes.

I said, "You will eventually. It's destiny."

"Seriously," He snapped, "I won't go back. What about you?"

I frowned, "Since I've never been, it couldn't hurt too much. I think I need some time to decide."

"Well, we should all go to Mr. White's shop and ask him what the deal is with that whole vision of the Tenkai Dragon." Guren said.

I demanded, "Tenkai Dragon?"

"Yeah, it was split into five cubes. I guess our job is to get them before the bad guys do." Guren explained.

I gave him a dull look, "Let's go to the shop before I beat you with a rake."

We began traipsing through the area to hit up Mr. White's freakish shop. When we passed by, I bumped into a green haired boy wearing a black bandana with yellow lightning on it. He muttered a few insults about goblin roaches, but continued on his way with a very familiar face beside him: Chooki Mason, also known as Perfect Mason. I felt my anger toward them spike, but Ceylan started dragging me along. We finally made it to the shop, and I saw Mr. White waiting expectantly.

"Ah, hello again, Guren, Ceylan, Bri- I mean, Brett." Mr. White said, stumbling over my real name to use my alias.

I held up my tiny block, chucking it at him, "What's this about robots?!"

"I should have seen that coming," He muttered, then said, "I suppose you want to know. First, boys, what happened?"

Ceylan burst out, "Our core bricks responded to the museum tablet and turned it into a key, and now we find out that the school freak has one too?!"

"I'm not a freak, I'm just different." I insisted, stuffing my hands into my pockets, only to find my core brick there.

Guren said, "We wanna know why they were glowing."

"Well, perhaps that is their way of summoning you to Quarton." Mr. White suggested.

I said, "I've never been, I'm not the right dude, and-"

"It may not have bonded to your energy yet, but it knows that you are the one true master of Brillius." He replied easily, "There is no one else to take your place."

I muttered, "Awesome. I'm bad at_ everything_ in general except for writing and drawing, which I'm not even good at, and yet I'm a _superhero_. I mean, _go universe_…"

Suddenly, I felt a slight surge of energy flow through me, and I saw my core begin to give of a gray glow from my vest pocket. I unzipped the pocket- yes, the pockets have zippers- and took it out. I looked at Ceylan and Guren. Ceylan was repeatedly trying to give back his core brick, while Guren looked at me with pleading eyes and a hopeful smile, his glistening red core brick in hand. He was thinking I would be crazy and come with him on this…?

"I'm going. I don't like sitting around doing nothing when there are bad guys to mess with!" I declared, a wicked grin on my lips. Of course I was crazy!

Guren smiled and said, "We're going with or without you, Ceylan!"

"Then buzz off. I'm not going." Ceylan replied.

I said, "Enjoy. If we fail, everyone here is over."

"Wha- wait, where are you guys going?! _Guren!_" He demanded.

As Guren and I walked toward the portal, the red-and-black haired boy said, "To help on Quarton. Later, Ceylan."

We were enraptured in some sort of freaky light that made me think of a discotheque, which caused me to curl my hands into fists and drew my shoulders back, looking halfway between heroic and offended. Like I said earlier, I hate colors. When my eyes opened, I was standing beside a white and red robot with a round crest, and I was feeling kind of bubbly in my chest. My body felt numb where it should be, inside the armor, but it was almost like there were nerve endings in the metal, because the red robot placed a hand on my shoulder and shook me. More importantly, I actually felt it. I looked around, seeing sand sweep under my feet, as well as hints that I was black and white with a fox chest plate. A rainbow robot ran up to us spouting gleeful garbage about his being heroes.

"At last, you have finally returned! With Brillius, too! You shall lead us to victory against our foes, and we shall beat back the Corrupted forces! But, ah, where is Tributon?" The robot exclaimed in an overly stereotypical medieval knight voice.

I snapped, "If I know who you mean, he's being a pain in the-"

"He had homework." The red robot interrupted, and I identified his voice as Guren's.

I asked, "Could you fill me in or something? What's happening?"

"These are the Corekai, and this is their commander, Beag. We're fighting bad guys to help the Corekai achieve victory. You're Brillus, I'm Bravenwolf, and Tributon… you already guessed." Guren said.

I groaned, "Alright, I said I would help, but I'm having sound thoughts now!"

"Brillius, you can't just back out." He sounded like he was begging.

I frowned on the inside and shook my head, "Alright, but if I die, my dad'll make you sorry."

"No guarantees." He said.

Beag asked, "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," I said, "I just needed to get my nerve back, you know?"

We began running toward a ledge, but slowed down about three fourths of the way there, and I could tell this was an element of surprise type thing.I crouched at the ledge, knowing I was a bit less obvious to spot, what with the white clouds around here. Beag sat down beside me, along with Guren- I mean, Bravenwolf. I looked over at the approaching battalion.

"We have been waiting here to ambush the Corrupted, as this small battalion has a Dragon Cube. With you here, we have a fighting chance." Beag proudly proclaimed, though his voice was lowered.

I heard Bravenwolf's anxious voice, "Just a fighting chance? That's all?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. You and Brillius are the only ones who can help us right now." Beag admitted.

I saw a pair of Corekai across the canyon, one green and one yellow, but I didn't say anything about it. "I guess we have to, Bravenwolf."

"They really _are_ depending on us…" The red knight whispered.

"Uh… Hey..."

I whipped around, recognizing that voice. I felt surprise edge through me, the blue robot hiding behind a bunch of rocks. Wasn't that the voice of Ceylan- Tributon, I guess- just now? I edged forward very slightly, seeing a bit more of him. He had an eagle chest plate, and he didn't have the crest Bravenwolf had.

"Show yourself, intruder! The Corekai have you surrounded!" Beag declared.

The blue mech stepped out from behind the rocks. Bravenwolf and I both spoke in sync. "Ceyla- I mean, Tributon!"

"We thought you weren't coming, dude." I said.

Tributon rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, "I dunno why I'm here."

"You may not, but I do," Bravenwolf said, sounding all mushy and soft, "You're watching our backs, and we're watching yours, 'cause that's what friends do."

I choked, "_Who said we were friends_?"

"Look, enough with the gross mushy junk- when can I blow some stuff up?" Tributon demanded, bouncing around violently, knocking a large stone loose.

I said, "Uh, give it a second, These guys don't seem too sharp, but they might notice a giant falling rock."

Everyone just went silent for a moment as it hit the ground, and the many Corrupted bad guys looked up at our hiding place. I looked at Tributon and smacked him on the back of the head. That green Corekai and that yellow Corekai across the way reminded me of two people, people I didn't like, but I couldn't figure out who. I immediately forgot about them when the ledge we were standing on broke, and we started rushing down the hill. I stumbled and started rolling.

"See how they rush into battle? That's why they're legendary!" Beag said.

One of them asked, "And Brillius?"

"Obviously she is attempting to knock the enemy down with her momentum. She is the clever Brillius for a reason, Senjo." He explained.

I wanted to punch both of them, but I slammed into an ugly Corrupted guy with a toaster for a face and kitchen knives on his hands, who stared directly at me. I felt my fear increase my levels I never realized I had. He was freaking ugly and freakishly scary!

"Brillius and Tributon. We meet again." He said.

I mumbled, "Who are you…?"

"Slyger, your worst enemy! How could you forget?" The toaster yelled, stamping his foot.

I coughed, "You have a toaster on your face, dude. I guess I should remember…"

He ragingly threw himself at me, trying to use his claws to shred me when a katana appeared in my hand, along with a shield strapped to me. I blocked him with both, then swung, only to trip over my own two feet. I groaned, hating my typical clumsiness. Tributon shook his head, but suddenly started dodging lighting. I got up and barely avoided a shock myself. We were dancing around like fairies, which was completely embarrassing. We were being attacked by a cat with a toaster for a face.

I shouted, "You're the worst shot _ever_!"

Slyger or whatever was was called replied, "You won't think that for so long!"

"Missed me, missed me, now- wait, you're ugly, don't kiss me!" I began the taunted as I dodged, then realized where it was headed.

The toaster faced freak kept shooting lightning at us while Bravenwolf was busy fighting the other ugly rhino, who had yelled that his name was Granox. I felt annoyed by the fact both villains were so unattractive. I dodged another round of lightning from Slyger's kitchen knives, only to knock into Granox by mistake. I leapt forward, only to get totaly electrified, along with Tributon. We were both incapable of movement, screaming and writhing as my body seared with hot light. It felt excruciating.

"Tributon! Brillius!" Bravenwolf yelled.

Granox suggested, "I would worry about myself if I were you…"

"Uh…" Bravenwolf went back to blocking, only to get thrown across the area.

Just then, a duo appeared. The green one took Granox off Bravenwolf's hands, and the yellow one knocked Slyger around like he was nothing. The duo barely had to try, but they drove the Corrupted away. It made me think about who the yellow one had to be:

Perfect Mason.

I gritted my teeth, watching that smug saunter over to help me up. He said, "Need some help? You look pretty roughed up."

"No," I growled, recognizing that obnoxious voice, "I don't need your help or anyone else's. I'm fine."

I got up as he said, "Just trying to be helpful."

"Like I said, _Perfect_," I snapped, "I don't need help."

"Perfect...?"

I walked over to the other one, who seemed to be talking with Bravenwolf just fine, but Tributon was balling his fists up so quick I knew he was angry. Perfect Mason went to stand beside him.

"I'm Valorn, and this is Lydendor." The green one said.

Bravenwolf replied, "I'm Bravenwolf, this is Tributon, and-"

"I'm Brillius," I interrupted him, "Who is _not_ part of team Bravuton or whatever their team is."

Bravenwolf sounded shocked, "I thought you wanted to have a team on your side…"

"No way. I agreed to help the Corekai, not be part of your little friendship circle that you wanna form." I said, then snorted, "The B-man is out. Later."

I heard Lydendor mumble, "She reminds me of somebody, Valorn…"

"I dunno what you're talking about."

"She called me 'Perfect', and I don't remember who branded that tag as my name, but…" I immediately took off and went back to Earth before I could hear the rest of it- the "they were really dumb" or "they were awful at everything" that everyone always said."

* * *

"So, how was it?" Mr. White asked.

"Terrible! I'll come back my myself, but not with a team." I snapped, then whispered "Not anywhere with Perfect Mason."

"Perfect Mason? You couldn't mean-" He started.

I snarled, "I'm not going _anywhere_ with Chooki Mason, Lydendor, whatever I'm supposed to call Perfect!"

"You assume he is Lydendor?" He asked quietly.

I nodded, "He is. I know he is."

I then stalked out without a word to anyone, heading back to my empty, lonely household. I walked upstairs without even eating, and buried my face in a pillow. This was it. I would finally have to accept that nobody could be my friend, not even Ceylan Jones or Guren Nash. Not that green haired kid, not Valorn…

And_ never_ Perfect Mason.


	2. The Rising Fire

The Rising Fire (Last episode in first person POV until Welcome to The Jungle)

**Oh yeah, one of my novel characters, Chevy Monroe, is featured in here now! Poor sympathetic, sweet Chevy. :3**

It was Perfect Mason… once again. I threw my hands up angrily, trying to understand why he was so irritating all of a sudden, like he was trying to keep an eye on me. His annoying little friend wasn't helping either. In fact, I would love to bash in either of their faces. It had only been yesterday that I made my first trip to Quarton, and already it seemed Chooki was stalking me to see if I was Brillius. If Chooki wasn't Lydendor, I don't know who could be. He fit the bill as far as I'm aware, with his annoyingly perfect athletics, and his annoyingly perfect voice, and that flawless attitude of generosity that I knew Lydendor must have had since he tried to help me up.

I slumped into my seat as soon as I got to Ms. Finwick's class, but for some reason, I had thought that my seat was beside Ceylan Jones! He looked over and said, "I thought you said you weren't part of team Bravuton."

"I'm not sure why I'm sitting here," I mumbled, pulling out that sketch of Guren to finish it before class started.

He commented, "You look like you ate the breakfast burrito, dude."

"It's Perfect Mason! He keeps following me around and stalking me today!" I sighed.

Ceylan said, "I have no idea who that is."

"Chooki?"

"Who?"

_"Chooki!"_

"Is that some new lunch item?"

"You mean you don't know about _Chooki Mason_."

"Is that some sort of crime?" He demanded.

I nodded, "He's the absolute most popular kid in school!"

The blue haired boy said, "You shouldn't know that if you never talk to anyone."

I said, "The guy and I have a bit of a score to settle."

"So, you're arguing with the most popular guy in the whole school? That's not smart…" He mumbled.

I sighed and admitted, "I don't have a real reason to hate the guy. I just don't like him."

"You should actually try to be nice to him then. Popularity goes a long way." The blue haired you leaned back, placing his feet on the desk.

I snapped, "Don't even start. I don't like him, he doesn't like me, and his friend is annoying too, even if I haven't met him!"

"Whoa," Ceylan held up his hands, "That's just guilt by association."

I rolled my eyes and completed my drawing of Guren, but then a certain pale hand came into voice and snatched it away. He toyed with it for a moment before passing it to Guren, who was studying. The red-and-black haired boy looked surprised by the appearance of his own image on paper.

"You!" I snapped, "Give it back!"

Guren seemed confused, "You drew me?"

"Yeah, I know- whatever!" I held out my hand, "And if you must know, it's because of your hair. It's interesting."

He nodded, handing it back, "Oh, thanks… I think. Anyways, I thought you didn't want to be part of our team."

"I don't. I just don't have anybody else who won't make me feel like hiding in a burlap sack all day and hope they forget about me." I said.

Guren said, "Alright. But still, we should probably figure this whole Lydendor-Valorn mystery before we meet them again. Hey, could I get your number."

"Lydendor is definitely Perfect- I mean, Chooki- Mason. They have the same voice, same attitude, and same overall manner of movement." I declared, eyes filled with certainty, handing over my contact on a slip of paper..

Ceylan sighed, "You know way too much about the guy, it's like you're stalking him."

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about exactly, but if it involves _me_…" I immediately went stiff as I heard that same annoying voice that was absolutely faultless and smooth.

I whipped around, "Perfect Mason!"

"Brittany Brooks." He replied, cool as a cucumber.

I snapped, "Mind your own business, stop stalking me."

"Stalking? I don't stalk people." He said, an earnest smile on his lips, "You, on the other hand, do. You know _way_ too much, just as this guy said."

Anger began to fill my veins, staring at him. Those bright shining green eyes, his brown hair drawn back into a ponytail, his bangs a golden star. He was everything. He had the whole school wrapped around his slender fingers, with every girl desiring his company for her own, every boy wanting to be his best friend. He was a quick learner, and he was smart to boot. He was a natural born athlete, graceful and strong. That didn't label his flawless personality, which was generous, kind, and forgiving. His family was wealthy, too. He was handsome.

That was seriously still getting on my nerves. I was a loner which didn't bother me so much, and he had known me from the day he moved to Benham City, so it wasn't like he didn't know my secret of being a girl. He was an angel, and I was a demon- _we can't get along_. He was handsome, I was nowhere near that. He was studious, and the only reason I passed was that I had nothing better to do. He was graceful, I was lucky to go a full day without tripping over my two left feet. He was sweet and forgiving, and I hated everyone I knew, not to mention I held grudges like they were lifelines. I was also really, really shy around people I wasn't familiar with, while he was outgoing and talkative.

"Get _over_ yourself, Mason." I growled, "You've been following me around since I left my house."

Chooki looked surprised, "Really? You noticed?"

"Trust me, I notice things. You and your little green haired midget friend have been following me around the whole town. So, what did you want, Chooki?"

"Nothing. Enjoy your misery, dude."

Chooki walked out the door easily. Ceylan asked, "Was that 'Perfect' Mason?"

"The one and only…" I groaned.

Ceylan stared after the athlete, then said, "Dude's a total jerk."

"You," I gasped out, "You just made my day. Gimme five!"

We slammed our hands together, laughing and cracking jokes about him. Ceylan actually agreed that Chooki was a pain in the neck, which was awesome. Guren didn't seem as enthusiastic about our entertainment sacrificing Chooki's already oversized ego and his pride. He shook his head and closed his eyes. I got out an orange and began eating it. After a minute, Guren realized something.

"Didn't Chooki call you 'Brittany'?" Guren asked, confused.

I immediately tried to cover it up. "We hate each other, so he pretends I'm a girl. That's all."

"Okay…" He conceded, but then class started.

* * *

"If I were a Tenkai Knight, where would I be…?" Guren muttered to himself.

Ceylan growled, "You _are_ a Tenkai Knight, and you'd be wasting your time looking for other knights when we already have three! You, me, and Brett, remember?"

"Genius. I already told you, Chooki is definitely Lydendor. I'm thinking that green midget friend of his might be Valorn, too." I decided easily. I was snacking on a bag of Skittles.

Guren said, "We don't know for sure."

"I've got a mystery of my own," Ceylan muttered, "Where does Brett keep getting all that food?"

I shrugged, "I keep a stash in my vest. I get hungry, I eat a lot, I write a lot. My life consists of this clipboard, paper, a pencil-" I hold up the clipboard in my left hand as we cross the street, a pencil between my fingers, "- and a bunch of food."

"I think I'm amazed." He admitted.

Guren interrupted us, "Hey, maybe we can use our core bricks to find the others!"

"Great idea." Ceylan declared loudly.

We walked to the park, where Ceylan pulled out his core brick, playing with it for a little while. I looked around, shoved the empty Skittles bag (and several Snickers, Whatchamacallits, and a bag of popcorn) into my jacket, then pulled out a Subway foot long. Both boys looked at me like I was going to whip out an elephant next. I broke it in half, then the other half in half, and offered them a quarter each. They both refused, so I started eating.

"Go Tenkai!" Ceylan yelled, hoisting his core brick above his head. It didn't work, so he started doing a bunch of weird motions, "Tenkai locator! _Go go Tenkai_!"

I mumbled through a mouthful of salami, banana pepper, ham, and bread, "You look like a moron."

"Sh-shut your face hole." Ceylan said, glaring.

Guren gave a grimace, "I think you need to work on your dance moves, dude."

"You couldn't do any better…" He mumbled.

Guren nodded, "Well, I've got a better ide-"

"No! I've got this, it's under control."

I looked at Guren, offering a quarter of a sandwich again, "I have a feeling you'll want to eat this or hit Ceylan with it."

"Thanks…" The dual-colored boy sighed, face palming as he accepted the sandwich and took a bite, "How old is this sandwich, anyways?"

I said, "I bought it just before I met up with you guys, like ten minutes ago."

"Alright, let's go follow Ceylan…"

After waiting several minutes for Ceylan to get out of the bathroom (Guren and I were now eating Kitkats), he came out of there and took us to the mall. We stopped just in front of it and tossed our trash, then waited for Ceylan to unveil his plan that is more likely to fail than me in a professional football game. I hated waiting, so I started pacing around them like a moon circling a planet. Even when he started speaking, I continued to orbit them.

"Did you know that scientists can tell how a dinosaur looked from the smallest finger bone?" Ceylan asked.

I nodded, "Just tell us the plan."

"Well, okay. Lydendor was yellow, and he was swift. So, on Earth, he's probably a tall, skinny guy with blond hair. Valorn was stockier and… greener. So maybe he's short, and he likes to eat spinach…" The blue haired male stated.

I said, "Description one, I can agree with. Description two, _not even_."

"Yeah, I think I have a better plan." Guren agreed, "One where we _don't_ look crazy."

I asked, "Does it involve eating food? I have money. I want food."

"_Do you ever stop eating_?!" Ceylan demanded.

I replied lazily, "Nope. I came, I ate, I left."

"Do you have any drinks in that vest of yours?" Guren asked, "We might be here a while."

I pulled out a few juice boxes, a soda bottle, and two boxes of Cracker Jacks. I kept the soda, a juice box, and a box of Cracker Jacks, giving the rest to him. We sat on a bench and watched Ceylan ruin his dignity, asking people whether they had been to a square planet before or not. I got out the last box of Cracker Jacks and the last juice box in my vest. Hey, even I can't have an infinite supply of food! I've got nothing else, and I was expecting to be home and eating something by now! We quietly watched him come over, looking defeated. I handed him the juice and the snack, and he took it. Ceylan munched on them, and chugged the juice, then closed his eyes.

"You beat?" I asked.

He nodded, "I mean, I thought my plan would work! It was good in theory…"

"It wasn't even good for a parody." I countered his words.

Guren said, "Now we can try my idea."

"Does it involve food?" I repeated myself to him.

He smiled, "Yes, actually!"

"Awesome! I'm digging your plan already, doll." I exclaimed.

Both of them looked weirded out. _"Doll?"_

"Shut up and roll with it, dudes. Now to wherever we need to go!" I declared.

Guren led us to just out front of the Shop of Junk- I mean, Wonders. I noted the fact there was a burger joint just out front of the antique shop, and that if we got a window seat, we could easily see what was happening at the storefront. The Shop of Wonders didn't look like a place Perfect Mason would be at for any reason besides being Lydendor, so I felt pretty confident that we were going to meet him and his green haired buddy on Quarton if they went in. Ceylan, however, apparently didn't understand the concept.

"Mr. White already said that he wouldn't tell us, Guren." Ceylan sighed.

I snapped, "Stakeout, dude! We'll watch the place from this burger joint!"

"Exactly, Brett! And, you get to have food." The dual shaded boy explained.

I drooled,"Bacon and avocado burgers…"

"That sounds disgusting…" Ceylan mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, "Don't knock it 'til you try it. Now, let's eat!"

* * *

I officially hate waiting more than I hated it before we got here. My legs were itching at the bone, my face has been pressed against the glass way too often, and I've tripped over several chairs in the past ten minutes. Guren and Ceylan both seemed just as bored, so I bought my sixth avocado bacon cheeseburger tonight. I was jamming it into my face for a while, but then it happened. I was sitting there, eating it, when Ceylan began arguing with Guren. I saw Perfect Mason and his mandatory midget walking side by side to the shop.

"Guys, I see them." I said.

They simply kept bickering like an old married couple.

"Guys!" I shouted.

They both stopped and looked at me in surprise, "What?"

"Perfect Mason and his friend are about to go into the junk shop." I said.

We threw away our drinks, I shoved my whole burger into my face and started running with a full mouth, Guren muttering that I would choke We passed Mr. White, everyone but me greeting him swiftly, while he just smiled, entertained. We ran into the back and went into the portal room, sliding to a stop when we saw the portal crackling with energy. It had already transferred Mason and company. I narrowed my eyes and finished my burger.

"Told you they came this way." I said.

Guren agreed, "Yeah, you did. We would've missed it if you hadn't said something- now let's go!"

"Right!" Ceylan and I called out in sync, going into the portal.

* * *

"… consists of clear _and_ concise steps to reach a specified goal!" Valorn snapped once we arrived.

Lydendor tossed his head and called back before splitting up, "Try not to get debotified!"

"Great, we were right. They did come here." Bravenwolf said, then jumped down, "I think they might need a hand, though. Brillius, help Lydendor."

I snorted as we parried shots from the lame Corrupted goons, "No way! He's Perfect Mason!"

"I'll take Lydendor, then! You just go help Valorn. Tributon, lay down cover fire." The red and white robot snapped, annoyed.

Suddenly, I saw Slyger blasting lightning into the sky, one of which hitting Lydendor, and another throwing Valorn halfway across the battlefield. Just as he said, Bravenwolf went to that stuck up athlete's aid. I went over to Valorn, slashing several Corrupted with my katana, then reached down. He took my hand and allowed me to help him up, saying a curt word of thanks, then rushed off. I followed him to the area where all the knights had gathered.

"Lydendor, our Tenkai Energy's flatlining. We need to get out of here." The green knight said.

Lydendor nodded, but he sounded reluctant, "I know, I know! We'll get our bots debotified if we don't. You guys think you can handle it?"

"Don't worry, Perfect. We can handle anything you can't." I said, a snarky attitude appearing just hearing that perfect voice.

The duo retreated while we stayed, fighting off Corrupted. Occasionally, a stinging sensation hit me, but otherwise I was fine. Nothing to get my undies in a bunch over. As soon as the last Corekai had escaped, we made like a French stereotype- to be honest, I know a pretty epic French guy, he kicked serious butt- and ran away. Once we got out of the portal room, though, we had an entirely different battle to be fought. Chooki Mason and his midget were standing there, blocking light. They both looked pretty intense, as if we had ruined their lives by existing. It made me pretty happy to see that expression on Chooki's face, but I didn't want to anger his friend.

"Brittany." He growled

I replied, equally infuriated, "Chooki."

"Hey, don't be strangers. We've all met before." Ceylan teased.

The midget snapped, "I don't recall asking for your tech support."

"Well, if we hadn't saved your sorry bots, you'd be Tenkai toast for toaster face back there!" The blue haired boy snarled.

The green haired male shouted, "Ever heard of a strategy?!"

I stepped in, "Alright, Ceylan, shut your stupid yap or I'll remove your face on Quarton. And Napoleon? You said it yourself, a plan needs steps. _You didn't have one, fruit loop_."

That seemed to defuse the situation between them, both relaxing because they both got the same treatment. However, we still had to undo the anger between Chooki and I, which was an improbable idea. I turned to him, making eye contact with him as he got into my face, trying to intimidate me with his height of 5"6, while I was only 5"2. My fingers wrapped around my sleeves, my sharp nails tearing into the fabric. My brain was a puddle of mush, ignoring that sense of pure kindness and any shy tendencies I had. I hated it. I hated him.

"I thought you said you weren't working with Bravenwolf and Tributon." Chooki said, taking on a cool disposition like he always did.

I replied, "I found out Ceylan and I thought you were a mutual jerk. I'm just hanging out with them, though. We aren't a team."

"Mmm. So you still don't have any friends?" He commented.

I closed my eyes, "Shut up."

"I'm sorry, is that a sore subject?" Chooki smiled, looking both amused and annoyed.

Guren tried, "Hey, let's just calm down and stop being like this."

"Why were you guys stalking us anyways? We know you were, we could see you in that burger joint." Chooki said.

I snapped, "Revenge for sending your little minion over there after me, of course!"

"Little?! I'm not little!" The green haired boy screamed, his nose wrinkling.

I apologized, sardonic. "Sorry, I meant shrimpy. undersized. young."

Chooki caught him by his tiny vest when he tried to throw himself at me, "Toxsa, she's playing offense. You're trying to play offense too. We can only have one team playing each position."

"Toxsa? Is that his name?" I asked, "You're hanging out with the school's nerd."

The athlete nodded, "Look, just give me my answer."

"We wanted to see what you were like. If you were willing to join our team." Guren said.

Chooki shook his head, "No chance. Not one she's on, and not when we like our team just the way it is."

I snapped, "Don't worry, I'm not part of these two. Like I said last time: B-man is _out_, losers."

Before I could leave, I heard that brunet laugh. "You aren't a boy. You can dream all you want, but you'll _never_ be a guy."

"Who said I wanted to be one?" My voice was deepened by anger.

Chooki said, "Either way, you don't want to be acknowledged as a girl. Still, we don't have to hate each other."

"Yes… We do." I sighed, then left.

I wanted to laugh at myself, knowing that I had given no thought to how to reply to Chooki's jab at both my femininity, and my tendency to be left with no friends. I just didn't know how to respond to the truth all that well. I didn't cry, though. I never did, even when my life got hard. i just got a good poker face, and punched a hole in the wall when I got home. My dad had a lot of holes in the wall to fix when he got home in another six months… I heard my phone ring, so I picked up.

"Hello?" I said, going into my bedroom and flopping onto the bed.

The voice was my dad's. Speak of the devil. "Hey kiddo. It's dad."

"Hey dad. How's your top secret work been?" I mumbled, sounding happy because that's what he wanted.

He replied, "It's been boring, a long couple of days. But, uh…"

"You're going to have to stay there for a year." I said, dull. When he didn't answer, I said, "It's okay, I made a couple new friends. They'll help me out."

Dad said, "That's nice. It's good to hear you made friends. Just remember, kid, you tend to push people away. Try to keep yourself in check, alright?"

"Yeah," My voice cracked, "Yeah, okay. Listen, dad, it's Thursday. I have school, so I need to go to sleep."

He sighed, "Alright, kiddo. Love you and miss you."

"Love you, miss you. Bye dad."

"Bye."

I closed my eyes, not even bothering to sit up. My fingers scrunched around the blankets, and I let myself want to punch a wall. I grabbed my notebook and started writing. Conveniently enough, I was writing a scene where one of the protagonist's friends started pushing people out, and didn't want to be friends anymore. His reason was that he was afraid to be hurt again. Hurt like he was when he lost his brother. Just enough to be hurt like I was when my brother left. Of course, in the story, he recovered. I didn't think it was possible for me to do the same.

* * *

"Hey, Brett?" Guren said as we jogged around the track, "Chooki said something weird yesterday. That you were a girl. Is it true?"

I grunted, "Yeah. Doesn't matter."

Ceylan agreed, "Dude, chick, whatever. She's still not trying to blast us into itty bitty Ceylan and Guren cubes."

"Well, I'm not trying to offend anyone. I just wanted to know why you hid it." The red-and-black haired boy commented.

I felt myself slip on the waxed floor, slamming my face into the floor without catching myself. I got back up, rubbing my nose gently, then caught back up, muttering about why I hate running. I couldn't find it in me to explain my reasoning for deceiving them, mostly because it would sound lame to tell them I was insecure about my looks, so I just let it hang in the air. I saw somebody drop his book bag off on the floor, and that made me wonder who would be doing that. I saw him pull something out of his pants pocket, and that something was…

An orange shape hidden by his hand.

He wasn't exactly a normal kid, from the looks of it. A new guy, obviously, just like Guren, but he seemed to have some sort of hidden secret. He had dirty blond hair that was combed neatly and was chin length. It stuck up a teensy bit at the front. He was wearing a leather jacket that was unzipped to look casual, an orange t-shirt that opening of the jacket revealed, a pair of nice looking jeans, and black boots. He probably didn't have P.E. clothing yet, since he started running the track in those clothes.

"Let's talk to him." Ceylan suggested, only for him to pop up on the right of said boy.

I said, "Uh, hey. You are…"

The dirty blond smiled, "Chevy. Chevy Monroe."

"Well, I'm Brittany," I explained, introducing myself, then the others, "Red and black hair over there is Guren, and Ceylan is the one on your left."

Chevy gave them a grin, "Good to meet you, dudes."

I nodded, "Likewise. Hope you settle in well."

"Thanks, I will. S'cuse me!" He said, then moved around us at a speed to rival Chooki Mason, trying to move to the front of the crowd at a dash.

I smirked, "Perfect'll hate this guy- friendly, fast, and quite a looker."

"What's not to hate about that guy? He doesn't even seem boastful!" Ceylan groaned, then snickered, "Chooki will be miserable to find somebody like him."

Guren scolded us, "Stop trying to mess with him."

I heard the door open, and saw Perfect Mason walking towards me. I moved away from team Bravuton immediately, trying to keep that athletic jerk from making some comment about my desperation or whatever. I don't care what he said yesterday, about not having to be enemies. He was just going to mess with my head. People like him don't desire friends like me with no skills besides major grudge holding.

"Brooks?" Chooki Mason called, looking directly at me.

I slowed down and walked over, "What is it, Mason?"

"You dropped something in History. I wanted to give it back to you. You might miss it a lot." He commented, holding out several pages.

I took them and gasped when I realized that they were pieces of my manuscript, "Oh dude, thanks!"

"Yeah," Chooki nodded, "I thought you'd freak if you lost that."

I glanced up at him, then turned to the last page. He had written something on it: "We don't have to fight". I looked at him and shook my head, trying to ignore the cursive I barely deciphered, then stomped on his foot.

"Yow!" Chooki gasped, flinching in pain.

I snapped, "You wrote on my manuscript- in cursive! I can't read cursive very well. You suck."

Chooki crossed his arms and shook his head, seeming disappointed by something. My reaction probably didn't go up to his prank's expectations, since he was trying to convince me of his will to befriend me, only to reject me for the fun of it. I wouldn't play his game, leaving him no enjoyment for his efforts. I lovingly checked my babies- I mean, pages and characters- for any damage, only to find they had been well taken care of. I placed them back into my clipboard's file, then hid it under the bleachers.

"Dude, Chooki-" Guren began, but Ceylan interrupted him.

Ceylan asked, "So wait, Chooki called you a girl. What's your name, then?"

"Brittany." I snorted, then jogged away from them.

* * *

It was a darker evening, one where all I did was sit at the Shop of Wonders, trying to ignore that feeling of sadness and anger flowing through me as I wrote. I could almost feel it, sitting at the counter while Mr. White repeatedly made terrible tea for me to check until he got it right. I was snacking on a gigantic bag of Cheetos, feeling them crunch between my teeth. I noticed a heavy glow from my core brick, and I dropped everything and stood just as the door crashed open. First it was a shocked Toxsa and an irritated Chooki, but less than a few seconds later, two surprised dolts named Ceylan and Guren came in. I was too busy glaring at Chooki intensely.

"You…" We both growled out.

I snapped, "I was here first, Perfect, so I call dibs."

"Yeah, well, there's only one of you and there's two of us." Chooki retorted.

I threatened, "Want another split lip, Mason?"

"Hah, you got one lucky shot on me and it goes to your head. Typical." He snapped.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm on my way to Quarton. Later, loser."

"Wait."

I shank back as a gigantic robot appeared. Oh man, that was really making me want to drop my tough girl exterior and leave, but sticking around was my best bet. Mr. White walked over and made a grim expression, as if to indicate that this was a serious situation- that one called for a "no duh, Sherlock"- but I simply was too freaked out to do anything but gawk at the giant mechanical man. The others were also unsettled, from what I could tell, but they had obviously seen this thing before.

"Before you go, you should know something." Mr. White commented, then asked, "By the way, do they know yet?"

I rolled my eyes, "Yes, now stop stalling and do something!"

"Alright." He muttered.

The robot said a lot of crazy cosmic stuff, showing us the past of his world and all that, and- to be honest, I didn't actually listen. I also didn't happen to care all that much, either. Either way, I would still have to work with Perfect and his stupid midget, and tag team with Guren and Ceylan again. After we came back to the shop, I looked at the others, who seemed to have a begrudging acceptance.

"I guess we'll all go, then." I muttered.

Chooki glared at me, "Yeah, I guess so."

After but a moment, we all averted our gazes, slowly making our way to the portal. I dug my nails into my palm so deeply that I saw scarlet beats forming just before we got into the portal. The neon light show started up again, making me taking that pose of disgust, but I grinned, since Chooki looked so stupid. He was just blankly staring off into space, pose truly the opposite of epic.

"Tenkai Power!" Guren shouted.

Ceylan called out, "Tenkai Speed!"

"Tenkai Strength!" Toxsa had a bit of a rasp in his voice when he shouted out the words.

Chooki, never one to be bested, boastfully yelled, "Tenkai Agility!"

"Tenkai," I hesitated only a moment before calling out my second part, which was a significant trait I had, "Endurance!"

Once we all ended up on Quarton, we all seemed annoyed with each other. We hadn't even started talking, and yet our tempers were all riled up for no reason. I was about ready to use the katana in my hand to slice off Lydendor's pointy ears without even flinching, and I could tell he wanted to stab my face with his chain blade. Immediately, the rivalry began.

"I bet Bravenwolf and I can get the dragon cube first!" Tributon

Valorn laughed and said, "You're on."

"I'm game." Lydendor agreed, then added in a bit of a taunt, "That is, if Brillius can keep up with us."

I snapped, "I'm my own team, stupid!"

"Sure you are." He teased.

Bravenwolf sighed, "This is serious, guys."

"Knights! I am very glad to see you," Beag called as we saw the same goon as before- Slyger- approaching, "We are grateful for your help."

Lydendor boasted, "You came to the right duo."

"Yeah," Tributon agreed, "Bravenwolf and I will get this done no problem."

Bravenwolf said, "We're all one team, guys. We need to work together, I have a plan!"

"I'm not on anyone's team," I said, getting in his face, "And I _don't_ take orders from _you_, _**Redshirt**_!"

Tributon agreed, "See, Bravenwolf? Even Brillius is picking a fight. We need to show who the top dogs are."

"Uh, can we hit the play button and get started, or are we going to be AFK this whole fight?" Valorn asked, sounding bored.

Lydendor replied, "Let's just play ball."

I knocked both of their feet out from under them, making my way onto the battlefield. I began slashing through Corrupted warriors like a hot knife through melting butter while they started trying to recover. Lydendor was up first, and he rammed straight into my left side. I shoved back with a shoulder check, and soon we were mostly just shoving one another around the battlefield instead of actually fighting bad guys. Bravenwolf yelled at us to stop fooling around and beating on each other, but we ignored him.

"Yo, Lydendor, it's a replay!" Valorn said, nervous.

i knew what that meant, and so did he. We cut off our shoving game just in time to dodge a bolt of lightning, only for it to come down again and actually hit Lydendor. Without really thinking about it, I whipped around to save him, banishing my katana for now. I grabbed him by the side, dragging him to his feet and half carried him to the shelter of an overhanging rock formation to prevent him from being struck again.

"Wh-_why'd you_-" He seemed surprised.

I interrupted him, "No time to explain here, I'll tell you when this is over. Just take a minute to collect yourself."

I got up and summoned my katana, darting back out into the war zone, hacking apart the enemy as I made my way around the lightning. For once, being short isn't the worst thing that ever happened to me, since the cannon wasn't landing hits on me. I dove next to Valorn and Bravenwolf, as well as Tributon.

Valorn immediately asked, "Where's Lydendor?"

"I hid him away. He was struck by lightning." I explained.

Bravenwolf growled, "There's no way to get at Slyger."

"Yeah, I mean, we can't just run at him." Tributon agreed.

Bravenwolf realized, "That's what they expect the least. We should do that!"

"No, we shouldn't, that is a very bad plan, dude!" I called, but he ran directly at Slyger anyways.

After a long moment, Tributon sighed, "Guess we should back him up… Even if he is crazy."

"I guess." I said, running around the side while Tributon and Valorn began firing their weapons.

Lydendor ran up to me for what I thought would be a hip check, making him move on. Instead, he ran just behind me and body slammed a Corrupted warrior that I hadn't seen, then fell in beside me. He made something akin to a disdainful snort at that warrior before turning his head to look directly at me. I gave him an acknowledging nod, then gave him a gentle bump.

"Thanks for that," I told him, "He would have been a bit of trouble."

Lydendor waved it off, "It was just to get even, okay? I would never help you unless I owed you."

"Sure, let yourself believe that. Why'd you do that save, though?" I asked.

He said, "No time to explain here, I'll tell you when this is over."

"Reflecting my own words back at me." I snorted.

"Let's do this!"

We were behind Slyger now, which could only lead to either being a distraction to him, or taking him down. Lydendor and I rushed up behind him. Lydendor did a tackle, throwing him into the ground. I slashed that super weapon in half, hearing it crackle with energy. I bolted, feeling the sting of the occasional shot, but most of them seemed to have attended the storm trooper academy for shooting. I made it over there, only to have something large, black, and mostly yellow thrown at me. Lydendor landed on me and we both tumbled to the ground.

"Fatso." I groaned, trying to push him off my chest.

He rolled off me, "Thanks for the cushion."

"I hate this guy so much, you have no idea." I growled, sitting up.

I saw Bravenwolf totally decimate Slyger's bot, so I just sat there, tapping my robotic toes together by rolling my legs. Bravenwolf, Valorn, and Tributon walked over as we got up. We all stood there for a minute, then Beag came over, praising our clever idea. I kind of tried to blot that out, since we were about to be toast only a couple minutes ago. Things seemed to blur. We got the dragon cube, and we were off Quarton before I really knew what was happening. Maybe this whole "team" thing wouldn't be so bad, even if it meant working beside Perfect Mason. Once we were back on Earth, I immediately went to leave, but a set of fingers caught my wrist.

"Hey," Chooki said, "You still owe me an explanation. Why'd you save my bot?"

I rolled my shoulders, "It wasn't because we're friends, 'cause we're not. I just couldn't watch anyone bite the dust when they're defenseless."

"Alright. I tackled that guy for a reason too, but not because we're friends. It was just instinct to help you." He admitted, releasing my arm as we all went to the shop area.

Guren said, "We made a pretty good team out there, guys. All five of us. We should team up."

"I guess that'd be alright." Toxsa said, "On this planet, you can call me Toxsa."

Chooki said, "I'm Chooki, but I think we have that figured out."

"You guys already know me, and I think that Toxsa learned it from Chooki. But, hey. Brittany Brooks is the name." I told them as I grabbed my clipboard off the desk, "And I guess working with you dudes won't be as bad as I thought.

Ceylan nodded, "So, I guess we're, like, bros now?"

"It's better than foes, I think!" Chooki laughed.

Mr. White smiled, "It's great to see that you're all getting along. Sometimes five is more than two plus two plus one, am I right?"

"Right. Well, I'm starved, dolls. I need something to eat…" I complained.

Guren smiled a little, and said, "We should all head home. Our parents are probably worried sick."

I ignored that last sentence, since mine weren't home. We all left the shop, and I looked up on my way home. The stars were starting to twinkle above me. Suddenly, I realized somebody was walking next to me. I looked over slowly, realizing it was just Chooki.

"Why're you following me?" I asked, trying to sound amiable.

Chooki replied, "I live down this way too. Besides, a girl shouldn't go home alone at this time of night."

"Right, I'll walk you to your house. Then I'll head to mine." I joked, a hint of banter in my voice.

"_Very funny_."


	3. Power of Five

Power Of Five

"Alright Beag," Bravenwolf demanded, "You're sure it's in there?"

Beag agreed, "Yes! The Tenkai dragon cube is definitely in there, our intelligence could not be incorrect."

Brillius had her back pinned to a small rock formation. She really, really hated having a katana at the moment, wishing it was a naginata or some other sort of spear so she could at least throw her weapon at the enemy without feeling like a loser. Truth be told, she wasn't the only one who was completely useless. Bravenwolf couldn't do a long ranged attack either. Still, she hated this sense of helplessness with a passion. After a long moment, she glared at Bravenwolf.

"This is _ridiculous_, we can't do this!" She snapped, throwing her hands up.

Lydendor argued with her, "We can do this. We can."

"Whatever you say, crazy doll, but we aren't getting out of this thing without getting messed up at least a lot!" The black and white knight replied, eyes flashing angrily.

Bravenwolf yelled, "You two,_ focus_!"

"Nobody wants to hear you two bicker like an old married couple." Tributon agreed.

Lydendor immediately snapped, "We are not an old married couple!"

"Guys, come on, be serious. Hold your position." Bravenwolf said.

After a long moment, Tributon raced forward, shooting his arrows off like a dork. Brillius face palmed quietly, knowing that there would be horrible results from this. She knew holding her position was basically useless and dangerous now, so she bursted out of cover and began fighting. Bravenwolf yelled at Tributon loudly that he was supposed to stay 'in position', while Lydendor screamed at Brillius for blowing the plan and just taking on the enemy.

"Lydendor, the plan was done for when Tributon didn't hold his position. We're in a free-for-all now." Valorn said.

The yellow knight sighed, "Yeah. I know."

They then leapt from their hiding spot, fighting, only to get blasted across the battlefield. Brillius sighed in annoyance- this team was a mess. She blocked a couple shots, sliced a Corrupted in half, and snorted to herself. She wasn't exactly helping either, since her entire basis was to be a jerk and challenge any form of orders given. After a long moment, she frowned, seeing a bright orange and black figure with Granox on the top of the castle.

"Granox, this seems a bit sad, doesn't it?" The robot said, sounding dismal.

Granox was confused, "Sad? What is that supposed to mean?"

"The fact that it takes carnage," He replied, "That it takes… this to fight the Knights."

The gray robot snapped, "It's fun, and who're you supposed to be, anyways?"

"Stratus. I'm Stratus." He replied, laughing weakly, "And this? This is just sick."

Back down below, the Knights could only watch as a large amount of flying whatchamacallits (not the food) began coming toward them. The Corekai immediately began to flee, and after being showed up a few times, the Knights began to run away as well. Stratus frowned to himself. This was no fair fight, a fight he would never hesitate to change in the favor of the Tenkai Knights. If anyone would defeat them, it would be him, and if in any manner, only in the honorable way. He chuckled, knowing that with a little help from him, things would turn out very differently next time.

After all, if Stratus didn't have his honor, he had nothing.

* * *

"That. Was. Awful!" Brittany yelled as she came out of the portal.

Chooki snapped, "You should have held your position."

"Guess what, _Perfect_? It would have just gotten my bot handed to me on a silver platter." She said, her gray eyes narrowing into slits.

He retorted, "You just don't know how to handle a situation."

"I thought we got this out of our systems on Quarton…" Guren mumbled, unable to prevent the disappointment leaking into his voice as they walked up the stairs.

Ceylan said, "I guess I heard you wrong, but I'm sorry I didn't follow orders…"

"Man," Toxsa mumbled, "This is the worst mission fail _ever_…"

Once the knights got up the stairs and Brittany and Chooki were both finished squabbling, everyone was quiet. Brittany had no expression, having been through enough to know that words didn't help when everyone was down. When the silence was louder than a jet engine, Toxsa finally decided to break it.

"That was totally bogus…" He sighed.

Chooki whispered, "I could've won if I could fly…"

"Newsflash, Chooki- you can't fly." Ceylan replied.

After another awkward silence, Brittany said, "We just need to work on our teamwork. We were flailing around because we couldn't work together."

"You don't have room to talk-" Chooki began.

She interrupted him, "No, I'm not saying I don't need to work on it myself- I do, I was a total pain in the neck- but it could work out better if we practiced, you know? Like…"

"Like replaying a tutorial to master a skill?" Toxsa suggested.

Chooki threw in, "A training session for football?"

"Studying for a test?" Guren tried.

Brittany exclaimed, "Exactly! All of you, spot on!"

They all nodded, thinking about it. If they just did a little training to get in sync for the next time, they'd have a better chance at success. They each smiled, knowing they could pull this off. When Mr. White came in to talk to them, he raised his eyebrows to see how happy they all were. They were all smiling, high giving, and thinking about how they would get practice on their teamwork.

"Well, despite the defeat, you all seem to be in high spirits." He commented.

Brittany grinned, "Yeah, doll. We decided we would do some team building exercises to get better at working together."

"That's a wonderful idea!" He smiled with them, "It will help you when you need to robofuse."

"Robofuse?"

That word stopped all the merriment. While Toxsa and Guren were wondering what it was, Brittany and Ceylan were thinking it sounded like work, and Chooki was considering whether it could help them win the next battle. Mr. White realized that they had never heard a term such as that before, so he poured them some tea and set down the pot on the coffee table. He then began to walk across the room.

"Robofusion. Each Knight is a piece of a whole. When you combine them together, you get something much more powerful." He explained.

Brittany asked, "So, we get awesome? Sweet."

"We totally get to turn into a t-rex!" Ceylan squealed happily.

She frowned, "I hardly think a t-rex will help us with those flying pieces of junk…"

"Right…" He sighed, "That's a bummer."

She replied, "I think I know just the way to do team building, guys!'

"Awesome. How?" Chooki asked.

Brittany blinked, then said, "I'll tell you after I eat."

_"Seriously?!"_ The other knights all exploded.

"Hey, I'm hungry. Deal with it."

Once the team got to the nearby Turtle Diner and slid into bar seats (with complaints from a certain girl in their ranks who wanted a booth), Toxsa walked behind the counter and tossed the others a menu. He seemed fairly comfortable with doing so, and he socialized momentarily with a tall girl with green hair. She was a highschooler, and wore a whole lot of pink. She nodded a couple times, then Toxsa returned and sat beside Ceylan.

"Alright, you ready to order, or do you need a minute?" She asked.

Brittany immediately replied, "I'd like a two egg omelet, a small chili con carne on the side, and a cherry Coke. Thank you, ma'am."

"'Kay, but I think we're out of chili con carne today." The girl replied, then said, "Toxsa, you need to repair the fryer when you get home tonight."

Toxsa slumped over, "Okay. This is my sister, Wakamei. She's our waitress… unfortunately."

"As long as I get food, I don't care if our waitress is a bilingual dog on roller-skates." Brittany said, "Nice to meet you, though."

Wakamei looked both disturbed and curious, then glanced over at Toxsa. "Is he always like that?"

"I think so. She seems pretty intent on making all of us question our sanity." Toxsa nodded, seeming fairly irked by what the team freak had said.

Wakamei raised a brow, "She."

"Yeah, she's a girl. It's been confirmed." He lazed against the counter.

His sister asked, "Anybody else want anything?"

"Yeah. Got anything hot and spicy?" Chooki shot a glare at the girl, "_Hotter_ and _spicier_ than chili con carne?"

Wakamei looked surprised, "Really, Chooki? I thought you had a sweet tooth. I guess there's the ghost pepper chili…"

"Don't bother, sis, Chooki has issues with Brittany. He'll just whine for hours that candy doesn't taste the same if you give him anything spicy." Toxsa sounded bored, "Grab me anything, alright?"

Ceylan asked, "Do you have lime parfait?"

"I'll check." She shrugged.

Once Wakamei was gone, Chooki glared at Brittany, who was now doodling in her ever-constant notebook that inconsistently came out of nowhere. After a minute or so, she started sketching out a small plan hatched in her mind. She had it so the team got in tune with one another. The answer she had come up with: canoeing. They were going to work together to row a canoe across the nearby Benham Lake.

"That won't work unless you have somebody instructing you." Everything froze when Brittany heard that voice. "I could give you a hand, though."

All five of them whipped around, looking a a certain true blond. Chevy smiled at them, giving a nod, his arms crossed in order to make himself appear less approachable than he actually was. Chooki took one look at him and narrowed his eyes, as if he set off some sort of "bad mojo" alarm. Guren and Ceylan greeted him easily, Toxsa tilting his head slightly in confusion. Brittany said something about taking a seat, so Chevy slid onto the bar seat next to her, as if he was a knight himself. The brunet beside Brittany looked away from Chevy.

"Nice to see you, Chevy. What brings you here?" Brittany asked.

He replied, "I'm just exploring. That's what the new guy does, right?"

"Well, whatever. Why would you help us?" She smiled, but is still cautious.

Chevy explained, "I just have nothing to do right now. I haven't made any other friends yet, it's disappointing."

"Cool. Well, want something? I'll even pay." She winked at him, a smile on her lips.

He shrugged, "I ate already. And I don't let other people buy my food and drink."

"O-okay." Brittany frowned, then smiled again, "Whatever. Chooki, Toxsa, this is Chevy."

Chevy closed his eyes and smiled, "It's nice to meet you!"

"Cool, thanks for helping us out. I'm Toxsa." The green haired boy grinned back.

Chooki simply held his pride, "I'm Chooki Mason."

"Yeah, I've heard about you. I'm joining the soccer team that you're leading, I think." Chevy seemed more curious than the opposing male.

Chooki ignored the blond's hand as he attempted to get a hint of friendship out of the yellow knight. After waiting a while to get the handshake, he realized there wasn't going to be one, so he quietly let his hand drop to his side. He glanced away momentarily, looking almost guilty for the sudden lack of trust. The others felt sympathy for the leather clad kid, but if Chooki decided he didn't trust somebody, the very idea of convincing him somebody was worth trusting was even crazier than his unnatural hatred of a person.

"Ignore Choo Choo train over there. He has some issues." Brittany said.

Immediately, he pounced on the opportunity, "No I don't!"

"Then stop hating, doll." She snapped back.

He growled, "You're just looking to fight."

"Oh yeah? Wanna go a round, tough guy?"

"You know it!"

"_No wonder your team's so dysfunctional_! If you two are _always_ at each other's throats, then that wreaks havoc on any chance of teaming up as necessary!" Chevy shouted over their arguing.

Both of them froze in place, Brittany's hand placed on Chooki's face to push him, and her other being in his bangs, trying to tear them out, while Chooki had been trying to kick her off her chair. The leather clad boy stood up, looking determined not to let them be a pair of dumb bunnies. He grabbed them by the collars and yanked them off their seats, both grunting as he hoists them back up to their feet by the scruffs. He had gone from a total sweetheart to a trainer in seconds. A smile crossed his lips.

"Grab your food, then let's go. We're training _now_!" He declared.

Brittany said, "But I ordered a full course…"

"Then you better finish in less than five minutes."

* * *

"Urrrrrgh…" Toxsa and Ceylan groaned, collapsing as soon as they reached the shore of the lake.

Guren fell on top of them because he tripped, but was also exhausted. Chevy and Chooki were sweating like pigs, but they were fine. Brittany was gasping for breath, hanging on a nearby tree for support, practically dying from exhaustion. Chevy clucked his tongue softly, but he was smiling as well. He and the suspicious brunet helped up the collapsed team.

"That was good for cardio." Chevy explained.

Brittany wheezed, "It was bad for our soul…!"

"It wasn't that bad. Now, let's get a canoe." The blond seemed amused by their struggles.

Slowly, but surely enough, the heap of boys eventually started walking after they got enough strength. They dragged the canoe out to the lake (spending another few thousand hours dying of exhaustion), then ran back and got the oars. They got in into the water, and were in their canoe seats. Each of them had a two sided oar, and they looked at Chevy, who was getting in nervously. His leather jacket had been left behind at the boat rental, and in turn was in simply his orange t-shirt. He stared at the water cautiously, then, when he was steady, sat down.

"You okay, Chevrolet?" Brittany asked.

Chevy shuddered, then nodded, "Wrong car dealership, but I'm okay. I just…"

"Just what?" Guren asked.

Chevy waved it off, "It's nothing…" The blond then said, "Alright, you ready for this, boys and girl?"

"Yeah! One mind, one team!" They all agreed.

Chevy nodded, then called out, "Oar with my directions. Left right left! Left right left!"

"Left right left, left right left, left right left!" They all chanted, rowing in synchronized harmony.

As they were going, they felt it. They actually started seeing what was coming from one another, knowing the pattern like the back of their hands. After a few thousand more strokes, Brittany watched Chevy's fists tighten around his seat, his knuckles turning white from the strength of his grip. She considered for a moment what could possibly be wrong until she remembered the way he reacted when he got in. The clenched fists were the only sign that he wasn't feeling too good about being on the water. Other than that, he appeared fine.

"Chevy." She said, breaking everyone's concentration.

He smiled, but his body was completely tense. His fists got an even more intense death grip on the canoe seat. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Do you want off? I'm sure we can get somebody else to help, Chooki has plenty of friends, and…"

"I'm… I'm fine…" His voice weakened slightly, having glanced into the water, "I want to do this. I have no problem with this."

Chooki disagreed, "You look like you're going to have a panic attack if we get into any deeper water, dude. You sure you don't want us to stop?"

Ceylan and Guren brought the canoe to a standstill, allowing them a chance to turn around if they needed to. Chevy smiled again, so Toxsa rocked the boat a little, and he went from grinning to looking like he was about to have a heart attack. Chevy heard one of his nails crack, but he didn't seem to care. He took a moment, reassuring himself, and then relaxed.

"I'm… fine. I got this." He insisted.

Guren nodded, "If you say so, let's go. Left, right, left…"

They managed to steer their way around an island, though Toxsa and Guren got into a slight argument when Toxsa had oared the wrong direction. Brittany had also been smacked by Chooki's oar a few times, which had caused her to reach back and hit him. This resulted in several comments from Chevy about their seating choice ("Why did I _ever_ let you two sit together?!"), and being told to cut it out by everyone else. After a while, things were pretty easy. That is, until the crossed paths with a lovebird boat.

"Turn the boat!"

"Starboard!"

"Perfect, stop, you're hitting me with your oar again!"

_"I can't swim!"_

Everyone was yelling at one another to do something, and they kept paddling against each other (or started hitting each other… Brittany. Chooki.), which caused them to crash into the lovebirds. When the knights and the couple surfaced, they were drenched. Brittany looked around, realizing that there was one big problem.

"Guys," She asked, "Where's Chevy?"

Everyone looked around for a minute, then Ceylan and Chooki dived under to find him. He was flipping out a lot, completely panicking. They managed to grab him, causing him to relax a lot, and they dragged him to the surface. Chevy coughed out a lot of water, his blond hair no longer sticking up in the front. He shuddered heavily, wrapping his fingers around Chooki and Ceylan's jackets. A certain girl swam over and slapped him, then helped everyone get back to shore with their boats. Once they were on the sandy beach of the lake, Brittany face palmed.

"Chevy," She sighed, "You were scared of water this whole time, but you helped us anyways?"

He smiled weakly, "Y-yeah, sorry about that."

"One, that's super dumb. Two, that's really sweet. Thanks…" Brittany smiled at him.

Chevy nodded, then said, "I'll be fine from here on. I'm heading home."

"Here's your jacket, dude," Ceylan handed it to Chevy.

He tossed the leather jacket over his shoulder, "Anyways, I'll be seeing you around."

"Yeah. Thanks again, Chevy." Guren said.

He smiled at them, eyes closing easily. After a little bit of time of the team walking away, he opened his eyes and frowned, watching their retreating forms. He sighed softly, then turned around to leave. Just before he started heading back to his house, he gritted his teeth. Chevy pulled out a small orange core brick, watching it glint in the sunlight.

"If only you knights knew why I helped you…" He whispered.

* * *

"See you later, Chooki!" Brittany called, walking into her house.

"Bye!"

When she shut the door that night, she realized something. Her house felt empty. Maybe it was because she had always been lonely, had always been unaware of what it felt like to have friends, that she never realized that feeling was always there. Today, though, had been warm and inviting, with lots of moments with her new… no, not friends, they couldn't be her friends. Even though she had argued a lot with Chooki, and despite the total wreck of the boat, she had been happy with something besides her writing for the first time in a long time. That was certainly something different than the usual feelings she had.

After a long moment, she actually thought about inviting somebody over to her house. Toxsa, Ceylan, Guren- heck, she would be happy to invite Perfect Mason over right now. It would alleviate that sense of being tiny in a gigantic home, that sense of shrinking. Brittany snorted to herself. This was the price of making something akin to friendships, but maybe if she held her tongue for long enough, she could get close to the guys. Maybe then she could have a moment of happiness between herself and not-exactly-friends.

"You think too much, Brittany." She insisted to herself, "You don't hold your tongue, you blurt acid."

After a few hours of doing homework, binge eating, and being unsure of how to stop the pain in her chest, she found herself calling up Chooki. When she realized what she was doing, she started praying he wouldn't pick up. She heard the answering click, and a soft groan escaped her lips.

"This is Chooki."

"Hey, it's Brittany. Chooki, you mind coming over?"

"Sorry, no can do, I'm at a game. What for?"

"It was just to talk. Don't worry about it."

* * *

Ceylan was definitely not happy the next day. As soon as Brittany walked into homeroom, holding her clipboard and a set of thin illustration markers, she saw he was miserable. Brittany took her seat beside him with a frown, reaching to place her hand on his shoulder as if she actually was his frie- no! She stopped mid-gesture despite the fact that Guren was looking at her, knowing what she was going to do. She assured herself that she was a wicked person, reminding herself that she enjoyed the suffering of others, that she thrived off of watching people feel pain. Seeing a person cry was her favorite thing to watch. She couldn't go comforting some guy…

Her fingers wrapped around his shoulder anyways. Silently cursing her sudden softness, she sat beside him, still clasping his shoulder in a manner that was comforting. A squeeze followed, and she smiled at him.

"You good, Goggles?" Brittany asked, then tugged his goggles over his eyes.

Ceylan didn't answer her.

"_Goggles…_"

Ceylan, after a moment, said, "Yeah. I'm fine, don't worry."

He gently pushed the green goggles back up onto his head, and then he pushed her gently, so she sat down, still keeping her gaze on him. She saw him mouth the words "it's over" to himself, which made her frown. Was there something keeping him from doing something? Did he finally finish something, or did he finally just get sent back to kindergarten?

"Look, I may laugh in the face of crying children, but… Ugh, this is going to sound so cheap… But you're my… _f-f-friiiii_-" Brittany cut it out and said instead, "I care about you."

Ceylan smiled sadly, "It's good. I'll be fine."

"If you say so…" She said, but the worry on her face was clear.

The classes went by, almost like a blur, but soon enough, school was out. Ceylan glanced at Brittany, who was writing and eating a small amount of sunflower seed meat. He decided to peer over her shoulder and read what she had written.

::As her fingers danced across the keyboard, designing the proper armor for his broad shoulders, Hikaru closed his hands impatiently. Joell seemed to be just as worried, even though he was typically the only one who keeps a light heart in these kind of moments. She::

All of a sudden, he felt a hand whip across his face, realizing that he had been leaning on her. She had a particular hatred of contact, probably because she hadn't been given enough hugs in her life. When she finally realized who she had been slapping, she looked like she felt guilty. Her hand pulled back to her side, and she got up. They began walking

"Sorry about that, Goggles." She apologized.

Ceylan replied, "It's fine. I forgot you hate to be touched."

"Haphephobia."

Ceylan stopped in his tracks. "Wha…?"

"Haphephobia!" She repeated, "The fear of touching or being touched. I'm haphephobic."

After a minute, the blue haired boy understood what she was talking about. "Oh… I didn't know that word or that you had that."

"It's actually not your fault since I don't hang out with people very often." She admitted, "Nobody ever touches me anyways."

Ceylan began to walk again, and she followed, "Is that some sort of lack of hugs as a baby problem?"

"Ha! I spent hours being held by my mom. I just… I don't like handshakes. Or kisses." After a moment, she shuddered, "And I despise hugs…"

He droned, "Sounds like you have everything an affectionate boyfriend hates."

"Good thing I'm not on the dating scene, then."

After a minute or so, the made it out to the courtyard, where the others were waiting. They all smiled, waved, and said greetings, while Brittany kept her eyes on Ceylan. He really seemed to be thinking hard about something, but the brunette wasn't sure what. She spaced out, picking at her vest and eating Skittles quietly.

"Brittany, we're being summoned. You coming?" Ceylan asked.

It took her a minute to realize he was talking to her. "Oh, uhhh… Yeah."

* * *

Brillius was not ready to do this again, but hey. This was her team as much as it was Bravenwolf's. She felt kind of angry, to be honest, remembering Mr. White informing her that she was not necessary for robofusion. It made her feel obsolete. Like a useless extra to the team.

_"Come on, Brittany,"_ Her mind taunted her, _"You know you are a useless extra."_

Brillius whispered, "Shut up, brain."

"Uhhh, who's the extra company…?" Tributon sounded like he was about to panic.

Brillius peeked out to see an orange and black robot, his chest plate resembling that of a mustang. Her throat tightened exponentially, knowing who that probably was. He seemed not to be interested in getting involved, as if observing the battle was all that he was there to do. If she was right about who it was, it would probably break her heart to know. She then assured herself that it wasn't him. There were no other portals to Quarton besides Mr. White's, and he would tell them if there was a knight who is fighting against them. No, he had to be one of the unseen Vilius's goons…

"I don't think he's interested in deleting us…" Valorn commented.

After a moment, the stranger just left, as if he felt satisfied that he did his job. Bravenwolf called out, "Looks like it's time for round two."

"Good luck, guys." Brillius shouted to them.

Lydendor replied, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. You just keep the Corekai from getting their bots debotified."

"Debotifed _isn't_ a word!" She yelled.

Lydendor dashed off to meet with the others, a chuckle escaping him. She watched them all gather up, standing around doing nothing for a few seconds. She was shielding Beag now, since Bravenwolf left. She felt like losing Beag would cause them to be decimated so fast it wouldn't even be funny. After a minute or so of them still doing nothing, Brillius felt concern blossom in her chest.

"What's wrong with them? Aren't they supposed to go all… I dunno, robofusion-y?" She asked aloud.

Beag shrugged, "I am not certain. They seem to be, ah..."

"Goofing off? Being a bunch of mantigos?" She suggested.

He paused, "The first one, yes, but was is a 'mantigo' you speak of?"

"… It's, uh," She lied, "It's secret knowledge. A mantigo is a secret monster hunted to extinction."

Beag nodded, "Ah, yes, secret knowledge! You are Brillius the wise, after all!"

"Exactly. I know things." She crowed.

After a moment, Beag asked, "Still, what are they doing?"

"Beats me… I mean, why are they just… standing there?"

Stratus frowned to himself quietly, thinking about how ridiculously slowly this is going. He had done everything he could to set the Tenkai Knights up to succeed, to make them confident, but they weren't doing anything that they were meant to do. Why were they just waiting, and what for? Perhaps he hadn't done enough to make this play out the proper manner? He felt a twinge of anger at himself, but quickly stifled it by reminding himself that it wasn't lying if they didn't ask.

"What are they waiting for?" Granox demanded.

Stratus said, "They're not waiting, they're trying to do something."

"What are they trying to do?" Granox asked.

He replied, "I think it would be 'robofusion', if I am not mistaken."

After a couple more minutes, it was becoming painstakingly obvious that they were not having any success at this. Stratus held his breath, eyes glinting in the light. The knights had just bashed their heads together.

"That's just sad…" The gray Corrupted general muttered.

Stratus agreed, "Pathetic."

_"Don't let me down,"_ He thought to himself, _"You can't just let me down, knights. I need you to win, or I'll lose. I _can't_ lose…"_

Finally, he sees Tributon behaving somewhat differently. He watches as they all get synced up, and smiled to himself, though none could see it in his armor. He made a vanishing act, not wanting to be on the receiving end of what is happening. The last thing he sees is the Protojet getting fired up, and Brillius staring, stunned by the impressive plane. Then Stratus is gone, and there is no more for him to tell.

"Whoa…" Brillius breathed.

Beag agreed, "I believe now is a proper time to be amazed…"

"So… How does that thing work?" She asked.

He paused, "That's right. You've never works through a combined will."

They watched it go phoenix, flames dancing off the plane as it rushed through the group of flying Corrupted freaks. After a few more rounds of messing up the Corrupted forces, the team blew it off the handle and destroyed the entire fortress, along with Granox. They land and unshift from their Protojet form, they raced over to Brillius and Beag.

"That was amazing!" Brillius immediately shouted at them.

Valorn cheered, "We totally just put their hard drives on the fritz!"

"That was one goal I am so glad we scored." Lydendor agreed.

Tributon added in, "It was great!"

"Please tell me you saw that- please tell me you did!" Bravenwolf cried out at them.

Brillius assured, "I saw, I saw. It was crazy awesome!"

* * *

"… You're awfully quiet now, Brittany. Something the matter?" Chooki asked.

It took her a moment to realize who Chooki was talking to, but when she did, she simply looked away. Brittany didn't know what was going on with her… acquaintance, Ceylan, but it bothered her to have seen him behaving so strangely earlier. She took a moment, then looked at Chooki.

"What's up with Ceylan?" She finally asked.

Chooki paused, hesitated, then said, "Well… he's leaving…"

"… Perfect, don't tell me this isn't a joke. Lie and say you're kidding." She begged.

He frowned, "You know, for somebody who insists that she doesn't have friends, you sure are getting worked up over him leaving."

"I don't care about him… I just…" Brittany felt her heart in her throat, knowing she shouldn't reply.

"Just what?" He asked, obviously not buying her "I don't care" attitude.

"… I'm just not ready to lose part of a team we only just began."

After a moment, they reached her house. A long moment of stillness ensued, no words being spoken, no moves being made. After a moment, she put her arm out, silently gesturing to her house with a look of soft determination. Chooki was surprised, not even bothering to hide that shocked feeling from the girl.

"Would you like to come in?" She asked.

After a long moment, Chooki agreed. "Sure, I'm game."

When he came in, he saw one thing that he didn't expect: dust. Lots and lots of dust on everything besides the kitchen area and the couch. He saw bills on a lonely table for that month, the proper amount in each envelope beside the bill. He began exploring the place. Dusty furniture, lots of different dusty things. When he finally found Brittany's room, he was surprised to see the lack of dust in there, as if she only ever spent time in her room and in her kitchen.

"Chooki, what are you doing?" A sharp voice pierced his ears.

He apologized, "Sorry, I was taking a look around. You should probably clean up the place a little…"

"Maybe…" Brittany frowned.

He wondered, "Where are your parents?"

"My mom is traveling the world, and my dad's been away for about two years now." She explained, "Now come down to the kitchen so we can eat. I always have fresh food in the fridge."

He agreed absently, seeing a picture of a bright eyed girl with long brown hair, braces, and wearing a significant amount of blue- wait… Her face… He realized the picture was of Brittany about three years younger. He frowned, then followed downstairs for a short chat and some food.

* * *

Slumping against the desk wasn't her thing, but today, she fell into her chair. Today, Ceylan would not show his face. Today, she would find herself beside an empty seat, so she would move over to be beside Guren. Brittany sadly laid on the desk, only to hear a door open. She heard Guren excitedly talking to somebody, but she didn't bother to care. She missed her… _friend_. Yeah, she missed her friend. He was her friend. All the knights were...

"What's the matter with you?" She heard a very familiar voice ask.

She mumbled, "Shut up, Ceylan, I'm busy missing- Ceylan!"

She sat upright in a flash, out of her seat tackling the blue haired boy. She stole his goggles of his head, and put them on herself, still pinning him. Guren started chuckling, and she ignored the lack of dignity that came with the sudden happiness. She had already started missing Ceylan when his idiot bot came in the classroom.

"Goggles, what is _wrong_ with you?! I thought you were leaving!" She whimpered.

Ceylan didn't even bother to peel her off him, finding it nice to see her in a less stubborn mood. "The company my dad was moving to got shut down, so we had to stay."

"I'm… glad." She managed to admit to him. "I'm glad you stayed."

"_Aaaaaaw_, how cute… Looks like somebody's going soft on us." He teased her.

Immediately, Brittany stopped hugging him and kicked him in the knee, making him fall on his face. She snapped, "I'm not going soft, you are!"

"You're right," He choked out in an agonized voice, "Just please don't kick me again."

"… I was about to miss you."

"Good to know."


	4. Vilius Revealed

_On request of a friend of mine, I'll be doing the whole summary thing that Guren does of the previous episode. Cheers, Maria! Also, reviews are awesome, thank you to my reviewers! I love you too, viewers!  
_

_Our top four countries for views are: United States of America with 159 views, United Kingdom with 24 views, Australia with 14, and Romania with 8! *clapping*_

_**Vilius revealed**_

Hey everyone, it's Brittany. In case you missed anything, I'll fill you in. Last time you saw us, we had just gotten creamed by Granox's flying freakshow. We Knights weren't exactly functioning like a team should, so we did a training exercise with help from Chevy Monroe, the new guy in school. He's been a nice guy, but with the appearance of a new possible threat wearing his same colors, I'm starting to wonder if he's actually on out team… On a happier note, Chevy's help got us the ability to use the Protojet. However, it does leave me to feel kind of useless. I mean, it only requires four people, and I'm an extra. Well, beggars can't be choosers. I just hope I can be of use to the team!

* * *

"Man, am I the only one who feels awesome or what?" Toxsa wondered, "It's like we got a major upgrade."

Chooki agreed, "Yeah, we've definitely got a whole new game. We're an all-star team!"

"Uh huh, we're a lot better, aren't we?" Ceylan cheered, laughing.

Guren mumbled, "I don't think that's the point, guys."

"Yeah," Brittany pulled back Ceylan's goggles and let go, making them snap on his head painfully, "And some of us didn't go into the Robofusion, thank you very much!"

Chooki shrugged, "Not our fault you weren't necessary."

"And you shouldn't tug on my goggles, that hurt!" Ceylan complained.

Brittany said, "Don't be a baby."

"I'm not a baby, you're just being a jerk." Ceylan snapped.

Brittany sighed, feeling helpless. She shook her head, complaining, "You guys are getting full of yourselves, and that's causing too much trouble for our own good!"

"What trouble? There's no trouble." Toxsa said.

She spat, "Be quiet, Capslock."

"Capslock?" He wondered.

She nodded, "Capslock. An annoying, overused way for people to get attention."

"Well, just because you're not awesome like the rest of us…" He waved it off.

Guren immediately intervened, "Brittany, no need to call names. Toxsa, she's got a point- we are getting kind of full of ourselves."

"Shut your trap, Redshirt!" Brittany snapped, "I'm leaving. See you guys when we have a mission."

She stormed away, listening to the Tenkai Knights boasting to the sky. She hated it and hoped Toxsa got hit with a flower pot or something. Maybe she could tell Wakamei that her brother had ego issues or something. She accidentally bumped into a tall boy with silver and black hair, who immediately gave her a snarl and a glare, his cobalt glove shoving her aside. A fully silver haired boy smiled and muttered a quick apology, then followed his brother/friend thing. After a while, she finally found a nice, quiet spot to hang out at, and she saw Chevy resting there, reading a book on classic cars.

"Hey, Chevy. Mind if I sit with you?" She asked.

He glanced up from his book, "Sure, why not? Got anything to eat?"

"I always do," Brittany smiled and handed him a Snickers bar, "Thanks for letting me sit here."

As she slid onto her butt, Chevy closed his book, "So, what's going on? You were with your friends earlier."

"They're not friends." She corrected him.

He compensated, "Why aren't you with your team?"

"They're being smug. I'm really grateful for your help and all, but they're being really smug…" Brittany sighed.

He frowned, "Well, that's disappointing. I hope things get better soon."

"They probably won't."

"Then let them crash and burn a little. They'll learn humility."

Brittany sat up and looked directly at Chevy, a swiss roll shoved in her mouth. She ate the entire thing before letting her jaw drop, surprised at how blunt the blond's methods were. They were well justified, not to mention that they worked, but for somebody as laid back as Chevy, to hear them talk as if they always do that kind of thing was a bit jostling. He seemed fairly relaxed as well, but she saw something small and orange peeking out of his jacket.

"What's that?" She asked, suspicious.

He looked at where she was looking instantly. As if that wasn't conspicuous... "Gum. You want some?"

"Show me what flavor." She frowned.

Brittany watched Chevy pull out the object, a small pack of orange cream chewing gum sticks. She took one, feeling a significant amount of relief to see that it was just a pack of gum. She nearly lost her cool when she saw the orange shape, and it turned out to be just what he said it was. Brittany didn't want to think that Chevy was a villainous person. He couldn't be a bad guy, he was too nice to everyone to be force of malevolence.

"I like orange cream soda." Chevy commented out of the blue.

Brittany replied, "I do too. Shouldn't you be in class or something?"

"It's not like I'll ever pass. I'm not going to be a doctor or a lawyer. I'm not smart enough." He mumbled.

Brittany glanced over with a frown, "Come on, don't say that. You're freakin' clever, and you got some teamwork skills under your belt."

"I don't _want_ to be anything special. I'd be satisfied just being a small town mechanic. I like doing stuff like that." He shooed off her concern. "Anyways, my family agrees. I'm no good at this school thing. I'll be lucky to get a C this quarter if I bomb another test…"

She commented, "Small dreams, Chevy. Small dreams."

"Small, but _happy_." He countered.

After a minute or so of just sitting and discussing their future plans ("I'll be an author and an editor."), they both seemed fairly comfortable, but Brittany knew it couldn't last. She couldn't seem to stop considering that the mystery bot in orange could be Chevy… She closed her eyes, trying to ignore such thoughts. After a long while, they started to push past her barrier of day dreaming. She had to get a little closer to the truth somehow!

"Chevy, do you ever hide anything?" She asked.

He said, "No, not really. Why?"

"Well… Do you ever have anything you haven't told anyone about?" Brittany retried.

Chevy paused. "Well, I suppose. But still, if somebody asked me about it, I would spill my guts."

"You'd tell them everything they ask about?" She sounded surprised.

He nodded, "I'm an honest person. I don't think lying is ever necessary. It's not that I haven't done it before- I have, everyone in history has-, but I just don't feel good about myself afterwards."

"Well, tell me a little about your family." She tested.

He shrugged, his face bitter and tight, "My big sis is in Middletown, working. My dad is a diplomat. My mom's a nurse. I never really had time to know who they were because they were always… working..."

After a moment, she recognized the expression on his face: resentment. She felt a twinge of sympathy for him, realizing he probably couldn't describe his family since he rarely saw them. It was her own struggle, so she could relate to his pain. If she could do so without either being overly excited or without punching Chevy, she would give him a hug. Chevy seriously appeared to be bitter about such things going through his mind. He pulled out a small danish and handed it to her, grinning kindly. She immediately ate it, then thanked him. After a while more, she finally gave in.

"I guess I better go see what those dorks are up to. Wanna come with?" Brittany asked.

Chevy shook his head, "I might get caught by the truant officers."

"I guess I should add, and then go to _class_ for once?"

"I… guess I'll come."

They then walked off to find the others, not noticing the two silver haired figures who were watching him. Both frowned as Chevy left with the brown haired girl.

"Looks like we'll have to have a talk with Chevy if he spills a word on his association with us and Vilius." The full silver haired boy said.

The black and silver haired other cracked his knuckles, "Yeah, _'talk'_ is one way to put it."

"We need to talk to him, literally. Not beat him to a pulp, Gaius. We might be able to use this to our advantage." He scolded him.

Gaius grumbled, "Well, he needs to be taught a lesson. Anyone betraying Vilius isn't a soldier."

"Unlike you," The other said, "We aren't soldiers. I don't know what Chevy's looking for, but I just wanna watch both worlds burn. I'll be siding with that new arrival, Dromus."

Gaius frowned, "What? Watch both worlds burn? Are you sure you're my brother, Kallist?"

"Some of us are happy either way, Gaius…" Kallist sighed, "I swear, you're such a sucker for orders sometimes."

"Well, loyalty is part of a soldier's life."

"Yes… Well, Chevy is not being a soldier."

"Exactly."

* * *

Chevy banged his head against the wall softly, already tired of hearing these four boast about their awesome abilities and how they could do anything. No wonder Brittany had retreated earlier, they were a complete bunch of fools! The blond male had never regretted helping anyone the way he was regretting it right then, and he frowned as they continued to boast. He looked at the brunette for help, but she simply shook her head and looked away, not sure herself how to change their behavior. Chevy shoved his hands in his pockets, his hand clenched in a fist around the core brick in there. He smirked to himself, knowing just what to do to take away their overconfidence, and he stood up.

"You're all being so childish…" He growled.

Everyone paused, and the green haired male- Toxsa, Chevy reminded himself- asked, "Whaddaya mean?"

"Overconfidence gets you nowhere! If you keep boasting to the skies like this, you'll all end up defeated, and I'm not sure what exactly you did to get like this, but you're in huge trouble if you can't get your act together, alright?" Chevy snapped, chastising them for their behavior.

Chooki said it bluntly, "We're not overconfident. We're just great at what we do."

"Look," Chevy's brow scrunched in worry, "Can you please just be a little more cautious? I want to help you succeed, but this is like trying to help a bunch of little devils! What are you even great at doing, may I ask?"

"Uhhhhhhhhh…" All of a sudden, they looked mortified.

Brittany muttered, "Ah, this is bad…"

"You know what?" He snapped, "Forget it!"

Chevy adjusted his jacket with a tug and walked away, his pride in his stride. As soon as he was away from them, he pulled out his core brick. He chuckled softly to himself, though he found nothing funny at the time thanks to the guilt that was scalding his mind, reminding him of everything he should have done and should have been. It was ripping on him like a mother on her rebellious child, trying to scream him into submission.

"It's not a lie if you didn't say you didn't already know…" He tried to assure himself.

His mind, however, had other ideas. "It's just the same as lying, just a little prettied up. Don't go trying to fool yourself. You'll never be good enough to do anything. It's no wonder your parents never spend time with you and your sister hasn't seen you since you were three- _you are worthless_!"

"Shut up." He said aloud, not really considering how crazy he might sound for arguing with his consciousness.

A raspy voice commented, "You're talking to yourself now, Chevy? Sounds like you went off the deep end."

"Gaius is right, Chev," Kallist said, "Maybe you're not insubordinate. Maybe you're just crazy, and that's why you _helped_ the knights yesterday."

Immediately, Chevy came to defend his actions. "I'm getting cozy with them to help Vilius find their true weak point. They're weak right now, they're overconfident, and now is when it is best to strike!"

"Being a good little pawn?" Gaius asked, then grabbed Chevy by the collar, being a good few inches taller than him.

Kallist chided, "Alright, mister Monroe. Let's not play games. We're on Vilius's side. Where do you stand, with Vilius or the Knights?"

"I…"

Chevy shivered slightly, then closed his eyes, knowing he had to either submit or get pummeled by these two, and they were more than just into roughing people up. If he did this, they'd make sure to make it so bad that his family would have to keep him off solid food for the rest of his life. He thought about how betrayed the knights would be, but he already had sworn his allegiance to Vilius… It would take something so awful and dishonorable that he would want to bleed from his eyes to forget to make him back down from his promise to the Quartonian warlord.

"I'm on Vilius's side. I'm going to report the Tenkai Knights' arrogance to him, and he'll strike them down with a swift fight." Chevy began, his tone submissive, "Gaius and I would follow him to the ends of the two worlds. But Kallist," Chevy continued in a dangerously edgy tone, "_Would you_? Or would you just like to watch the enemies burn so you can be entertained…?"

Kallist chuckled, "Very well, I understand why you would challenge me despite the fact that it's a bad idea. I'll let you off the hook this time…"

"But?"

"But if you ever challenge me again, I'll tear you apart on Quarton, slowly and painfully, making sure I remove your armor slowly and shred your circuitry to itty bitty pieces in front of everyone so they know to never challenge me again…" Kallist had leaned in, breathing the words in the blond's ear.

Chevy growled, "You're not as pretty a picture as everyone thinks you are…"

"Oh, Chev, you're so _cute_ sometimes. Like a little pet dog!" He laughed in the blond's face, "Alright, Gaius. Let him go."

Gaius more or less threw him rather than let him go, sending Chevy sprawling on the pavement with a cry of pain. He wiped a scratch on his face with his sleeve, trying to bring himself to ask himself a single question: "why do I put up with this?" After a moment, he frowned at the ground and tried to ignore the silver haired male walking by him. He suddenly grabbed Chevy by the hair himself, not making Gaius do the work.

"Oh, that jacket was your dad's, right? When he actually loved you?" He asked.

Chevy didn't answer, and Kallist slammed his head against the wall. Chevy then answered, "… Y-yes!"

"I'll be taking that, then." He grabbed the jacket and yanked on it.

Chevy suddenly caught the sleeves, not wanting to lose his most important possession, the one thing that made him feel like his parents knew he actually existed at some point other than when they were angry. Kallist glared at him, and they started tugging, both sides wanting the leather jacket. When Gaius placed a hand on Chevy's shoulder and yanked him back to the ground, he lost his hold on it. Kallist looked at the dark leather, threw it over his shoulder. He left, but Gaius stayed and raised his to his feet despite having helped Kallist take his jacket. He frowned at Gaius, wondering what he was going to do.

"Mess with my brother, you mess with me. Don't think you can get away from us, you fool. You'll only cause yourself more pain that way." He whispered, but he looked almost sorry.

After that, he left to go with his older brother, black streaks in his hair a bit more than usual. Maybe his hair was turning black after all this time… Chevy shook it off, getting up slowly and staring after Kallist with hurt in his dark green eyes, knowing that no other jacket held the few happy memories of his family life. His eyes flashed angrily as he stared at the lack of facts as they turned the corner, then he reached into his pocket. At least he still had his core brick. Maybe he could get his jacket back some other time, he had to alert Vilius to the knights' arrogance. He shut his eyes for a moment, then began running to get to Vilius.

* * *

"Ohhhhh myyyyyy gosssssssh… Can any of you comprehend the words shut up?!" Brittany snapped at them.

Chooki rolled his eyes, "Don't be jealous just because you didn't robofuse. You'll get the chance sometime."

"You're blind as all get out." She spat, tossing her head as the group walked across the bridge.

The group paused, seeing two silver haired males standing by the edge of the bridge holding a very familiar leather jacket. Brittany realized who it probably belonged to, since leather wasn't a popular item in Benham City, and decided that it was time to intervene. She and Guren apparently had the same idea, since he was just a step behind her despite the fact that she was the closest. They approached the duo just as the shorter one threw the leather jacket off the bridge, trying to put it into the water below. Luckily, it caught on a small support beam, but it would be risky to try to get it.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Guren yelled.

The short boy with pure silver hair said, "We're just getting rid of some stuff. We found it on a bench."

"Sure, but I bet the owner would like it back." He persisted.

Brittany pulled out a bottle of candy spray and sprayed it into the short male's eyes, angry and unable to keep her reasonability. She was too shy to speak, but never too shy to use candy as a weapon, apparently. The boy freaked out, and before his brother could react, she did the same to him. Both of them grabbed at their eyes, and she got down onto the support beam. She crawled slowly forward, worried about how secure it was and how much weight it could take. Her fingers wrapped around the tough leather, and she slowly brought it into her arms, then crawled back to the others. The taller boy with black and silver hair seemed irritated, reached out to smack the girl, but suddenly Chooki swiped his feet out from under him.

"I may not like Chevy, but he's still on the soccer team I play for. I gotta watch out for him." Chooki explained when the others looked at him in surprise.

Brittany grinned, "That's cool too, Choo Choo train."

"It's not going to matter. You should _never_ help somebody who plays for both teams." The shorter boy commented.

Guren immediately looked angry and suspicious, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that when it comes to Chevy, if you don't ask, he won't tell." He shrugged, "Fair warning, you know."

As the duo stumbled away, complaining about vision loss and such, Ceylan said, "Hate to say it, but they got a point. Why'd Chevy ever help us in the first place?"

"… He's not against us," Brittany muttered, starting to walk away, "He couldn't be…"

The guys all frowned to themselves, then looked at each other with boastful eyes. Chooki went off about how he could've taken the silver haired boys down all by himself in one easy move. She gritted her teeth, thinking about how they never learned their lessons, and stormed away to find Chevy. Just as she went to do that, she realized her core brick was glowing dark. Looks like they would never get to reach the shop before getting called to Quarton after all, thanks to those boys. Brittany whipped around, jogging towards the guys, who waited for her to catch up before they all took off as fast as they possibly could. Once they got there, all Mr. White got was a series of "hey Mr. White" and one "evening, doll", and then they had vanished into the portal room. The elderly man stared after them with disappointment in his eyes. They believed they were stronger than anyone in the world…

* * *

Brillius had never felt so annoyed that she wanted to smack every single knight at the same time, but today, she was ready to slap the entire team of four in front of her. They had spent less than three seconds on Quarton and were already boasting to the skies, so her fist was curled tightly around her katana as they sat down on the floor after complaining. Beag looked completely befuddled by their actions now, so, as the supposed "wisest knight", she decided to fill him in on the issues. Of course, she knew she never could fall victim to pride like they did. Wrath and gluttony, definitely. Avarice, for sure. Envy and sloth, maybe. However, vanity and pride were never on the list of her faults.

"Ah… What are they doing, commander?" One of the Corekai asked.

Brillius snorted, "I'll tell you what they're doing. Being lazy and vainglorious."

"Brillius, you speak lowly of your fellow knights?" Beag sounded surprised.

She hesitated, then answered, "… I guess I am. They're going to get their bots handed to them today, and I can't do anything to stop that, but I have to keep them from sinking the ship entirely."

"Is that so…?" Beag said, miffed by her lack of faith in her team.

Valorn's voice was carried as he spoke, "I'm bored out of my mind, and nobody better say 'you didn't have to go very far'."

"Because you didn't?" She said, sarcastic.

Valorn threw his shield at her, "I just said not to say it!"

She rolled her eyes, not that anyone could see them, and walked up to the knights. She hit each of them with the flat end of the katana like a teacher with a ruler, and each of them yelped and protested at her actions. She couldn't get them to stop sinking the ship, she just could'nt since they wouldn't listen, but at the very least she could make an attempt at bugging them into a state where they wouldn't be able to be totally wrecked by whatever Vilius threw at them.

"What was that for?" Valorn demanded.

Brillius folded her arms, "That was for being stuck up and rude all day long, not to mention the fact that you're whining like a bunch of sissies right now. Now get up and train or something, because the devil makes work for idle hands!"

"What does that even mean?" The others chorused.

She sighed and ignored them, then looked up when the speaker announced an attack by the Corrupted. Her mind went blank for a moment as she listened to the boys getting riled up, and she already knew she couldn't change their destinies now. It was much too late to change the designs of their fates. Hopefully she would have a good opponent to busy herself with so she could ignore them as they humiliated themselves in front of the whole Corekai army. That would be a blessing.

Of course, she didn't have an opponent. It was Brillius's job to watch them lose.

* * *

Crashing. Burning. _Failure._ That was all Stratus could see as he watched the Tenkai Knights fall from the skies, their Protojet form decimated by Vilius's robofusion. It made him quite frustrated to watch these four fail, but if the Knights survived this, they would be all the stronger for it. Still, when you are trying to get on your boss's good side, you intend to destroy his enemies yourself, and that was what Stratus wanted. He wanted a sense of security and belonging, but was that even remotely what he was getting? He looked around quietly, thinking to himself that this wasn't how he wanted to be protected, but it was necessary. He always claimed that his measures were necessary, even if they aren't.

"Might as well keep Brillius from interfering…" He mumbled, watching the black and white knight try to rush to her team's aid to get them out of the path of harm.

He leaped between her and the team, knowing that sacrifice from the Corekai was what was necessary to change the knights. He dug his feet into the dirt like he was ready to die to win this battle, though it was just a facade. He pulled out his weapons, two longswords. He felt vulnerable, lacking a shield in his arsenal, but he would not lose this battle, so there would be no point in keeping one. She summoned her own weapon and shield.

"Move it, jerk!" Brillius shouted.

Stratus shook his head, "No, I can't."

"I'll make you sorry!"

She lunged at him, swinging as quickly as possible, but he parried it just as swiftly as her attempt. He heard a loud roar of anger coming from her, and he knew he was in for a fight. Brillius kept striking at him like a fierce snake would. He parried her attacks and tried to make his own, but she was capable of blocking him. She wanted nothing more than to go to her allies and save them, but Stratus couldn't allow her to defeat him. Too much was riding on his victory in this. All of a sudden, she backed out of their fight, and they both lowered their weapons as they watched the Corekai wall get decimated. She dropped her sword.

Bravenwolf called out, "Beag, get out of there!"

"Please, run! It's our mistake, not yours!" Brillius pleaded.

Stratus knew he couldn't strike an enemy who wasn't in the fight, so he threw her katana at her, and the girl caught it, only to see that he wanted to continue the fight. Before Brillius could block him, Stratus swiped her legs out from under her, and brought the blade to her throat. However, before he could finish her, Vilius called for retreat. He hesitated, but the other knights were coming to her aid, so he let her up and sprinted to catch up to Vilius.

_"Get back here you cheat!"_ Brillius screamed.

He looked back, and called, "Not a cheat- a soldier."

* * *

The team silently came up the stairs, closing their eyes slowly. Finally, Brittany spoke to the others.

"We failed…"


End file.
